The Frugal Gourmet: how to use, re-use, recycle and recondition your ktchen staples...

[femmennoir]

So this is coming out of people asking questions such as: How do I turn my hardened cache of honey into a silky smooth delight once again? (Put it in a bain-marie - hot water bath - and it will return to its primal state) or....My vinegar is cloudy, should I throw it away? (no, just filter and keep the mother of vinegar and you will never need buy another bottle!).
Do you have a kitchen dilemma? have you invented a nifty solution to a kitchen problem that was plaguing you? This thread is for you!
Are you the keeper of some incredible "old wife's" remedy or down to earth bit of folklore which you have experienced works like a charm? This thread is for you!
My name is not Heloïse, just Elle*, but I want to compile the all-time wise femme/butch kitchen almanach!
So, to start: did you know that a profusely bleeding cut (happens a lot in a kitchen) can be treated by plunging the offended finger in a quantity of ground black pepper? It is instant, the bleeding stops and the pepper and the blood combine into a scab: efficient and safe, not to say probably tasty, but I digress..! It is used in restaurant kitchens in Europe and really really works, although I have freaked out chefs in American kitchens with that!
Your frugal gourmet queen, Elle*

[femmennoir]

...did you know that a profusely bleeding cut (happens a lot in a kitchen) can be treated by plunging the offended finger in a quantity of ground black pepper? It is instant, the bleeding stops and the pepper and the blood combine into a scab: efficient and safe, not to say probably tasty, but I digress..! Elle*

...and no, Chancy, no outchie! It does not hurt, sting or give any discomfort of any kind!

Elle*

[weatherboi]

Great thread!!!

When stuffing poultry...use a cheesecloth bag that has been greased to put the stuffing into and place it into the bird...you won't lose any stuffing that way and the bird still gets the juice and stuffing interaction!!! Nice and clean!!!

[diamondrose]

A friend at work told me that if you put honey on a small cut, it seals the cut and promotes healing and can even help reduce the scaring.

[Nightshade]

did you know that a profusely bleeding cut (happens a lot in a kitchen) can be treated by plunging the offended finger in a quantity of ground black pepper? It is instant, the bleeding stops and the pepper and the blood combine into a scab: efficient and safe, not to say probably tasty, but I digress..! It is used in restaurant kitchens in Europe and really really works, although I have freaked out chefs in American kitchens with that!
Your frugal gourmet queen, Elle*

What?? I'm amazed. And intrigued. And going to go buy a container of pre-ground black pepper for first aid purposes.

Thank you for my 'learn something new everyday' moment!

[Nightshade]

Not having had nearly enough coffee to be able to brain properly yet, the only one I can think of right now is if your brown sugar has hardened, put a slice of bread (I hear an apple slice works too) in with it and by the next day it will be as good as new.

[femmennoir]

Not having had nearly enough coffee to be able to brain properly yet, the only one I can think of right now is if your brown sugar has hardened, put a slice of bread (I hear an apple slice works too) in with it and by the next day it will be as good as new.

An apple slice does work well too, and gives a lovely aroma to the sugar! And my mother always kept vanilla beans in the crystallized sugar bin, where it left its pungent aroma, so all the sugar had a vanilla flavour....

Elle*

[Bit]

I love vanilla sugar!

A friend gave me homemade vanilla for the holidays... really cheap vodka and some vanilla beans--no corn syrup!

Y'all might already know this one, but if you buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, you can use it twice--save the bones, skin, and liquid, put them in a pot with 2 to 4 cups of water, and boil them thoroughly (most rotisserie chickens around here don't seem like they're done all the way to the bone when you buy them, so they do need boiled). Let it cool for a while, then strain the broth into a clean peanut butter jar or a bowl. Refrigerate for several hours, skim off the hardened fat, and voila! Fat free chicken broth! If you like, you can throw in onions, carrots, celery and spices while you're cooking it, but I've found that most of the seasoned chickens don't need it.

Elle, I'm curious; what do you add to the mother of vinegar to make more?

[lipstixgal]

I love vanilla sugar!

A friend gave me homemade vanilla for the holidays... really cheap vodka and some vanilla beans--no corn syrup!

Y'all might already know this one, but if you buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, you can use it twice--save the bones, skin, and liquid, put them in a pot with 2 to 4 cups of water, and boil them thoroughly (most rotisserie chickens around here don't seem like they're done all the way to the bone when you buy them, so they do need boiled). Let it cool for a while, then strain the broth into a clean peanut butter jar or a bowl. Refrigerate for several hours, skim off the hardened fat, and voila! Fat free chicken broth! If you like, you can throw in onions, carrots, celery and spices while you're cooking it, but I've found that most of the seasoned chickens don't need it.

Elle, I'm curious; what do you add to the mother of vinegar to make more?

Yes that is a good question what do you add to the mother of the vinegar to make more...

[femmennoir]

Elle, I'm curious; what do you add to the mother of vinegar to make more?

The mother of vinegar looks like a strange gooey textured circle (since usually it is made inside a bottle), a little like gelatin, pliable. When you filter your vinegar, you can take it out, rinse it, and put it in a clean bottle with some of the vinegar, then you keep adding little wine leftovers, also unfiltered apple cider works well. You can mix white and red wines, and apple cider, or you can decide to make white wine vinegar, or red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. Just keep adding, and let the bottle rest. It works best if it is corked with a real cork, which lets in some air. When you have a quantity, filter it, pour in a clean bottle, and start using, recycling the mother again. You can flavour your vinegar with fresh tarragon sprigs, or fresh or frozen raspberries or strawberries. Enjoy! (They make great gifts!). If you drink wine or apple cider, you will never need to buy vinegar again.
The word vinegar comes from the French words "vin aigre" which mean soured wine.

Elle*

[Sachita]

A friend at work told me that if you put honey on a small cut, it seals the cut and promotes healing and can even help reduce the scaring.


Propolis does amazing things. This is in honey.

[Sachita]

what about apple cider vinegar? I mean this shit is amazing for humans and animals. Also I spend huge amounts of money on electric and humane mouse and rat traps for years. Little did i know that the big bottle of peppermint i use for everything also keeps them away. I put a few oz in a bottle of warm water, spray it around my house and barn and they hate that shit. It works great.

[femmennoir]

I make sachets against moths (I knit and spin and weave so my house is full of wool) with lavender blossoms, cloves, mint, lemon peel and cedar chips and leave them among the yarn and in my sweaters drawers. You can also use eucalyptus (I used to live in Northern California and had a large eucalyptus tree in my yard).
None of my herbs winter well, they stay on my deck, right now under 30 inches of snow, and in the spring I have to replant most of them. Most often my mint, tarragon, various thymes, rosemary and lavender will survive, sometimes sage too. Nothing kills mint! I have dried all my herbs at the end of fall, and I use them through the winter in cooking, vinegars, teas, and sachets.

Elle*

[Gemme]

Old wife remedies, huh?

Let's see.....if you put a few squirts of lemon juice in a bottle of water, drinking it will help decrease bloating associated with salt intake. Also, injesting a little bit of local, unprocessed honey from your region daily will help reduce allergies. And cider vinegar will bring down the glycemic index of potatoes and potato dishes if added to it, which can be helpful for those eating low carb meals and/or diabetics.

[Soft*Silver]

I have two bags of regular sugar, unopened, that are solid as a rock. Is there any way I can soften them?

[femmennoir]

I have two bags of regular sugar, unopened, that are solid as a rock. Is there any way I can soften them?
Yes! open the bags and put the sugar in a bin with some slices of apples and let a few days pass. If there is a lot of sugar, you may need to renew, taking out the old apple slices and putting in new, but usually a few days do the trick!
Elle*

[femmennoir]

Old wife remedies, huh?

Let's see.....if you put a few squirts of lemon juice in a bottle of water, drinking it will help decrease bloating associated with salt intake. Also, injesting a little bit of local, unprocessed honey from your region daily will help reduce allergies. And cider vinegar will bring down the glycemic index of potatoes and potato dishes if added to it, which can be helpful for those eating low carb meals and/or diabetics.

Oh! That is all so interesting! An old wife's remedy from France: drink a glass of lukewarm water every morning, with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of honey! This is a panacea, particularly good for aches and joint pains, but it clears your system and assists you in losing weight.

Elle*

[femmennoir]

A friend at work told me that if you put honey on a small cut, it seals the cut and promotes healing and can even help reduce the scaring.

Honey is the only food which never spoils! It does not contain any water whatsoever, and does not let moisture in (which allows bacteria to breed), so it is why it has been used by many ancient cultures to heals wounds and cuts.

Elle*

[I'mOneToo]

That remedy is good for those with days to wait... one method for immediate use is break a chunk of it off (using an ordinary dinner knife, nothing fancy or too sharp in case it goes sideways against my hand) then place it in a large freezer ziploc bag. Zip it, but don't leave too much air in it. Then take a hammer and lightly break it up. Don't pulverize it. If you leave too much air it's like hammering a balloon and can have disastrous results, or may be funny depending on your sense of humor :)

Then just keep it zipped until it's used up. Might be too cave-man/womanish for some but works for me!

Yes! open the bags and put the sugar in a bin with some slices of apples and let a few days pass. If there is a lot of sugar, you may need to renew, taking out the old apple slices and putting in new, but usually a few days do the trick!
Elle*

[Jesse]

Remove excess fat from stews and soups by dropping in a few ice cubes. The fat will cling to the ice cubes, which you can then remove with a slotted spoon.

[Jesse]

The story goes that if you soak popcorn in water for ten or fifteen minutes, then drain well and pop, the popped corn will be much fluffier and with less kernels unpopped.

[WhiteTigress]

When making mashed potatoes, I cook them in chicken broth or chicken stock. It gives them much more flavor. When I drain my potatoes, I save the broth, and put it in the fridge to make soup in a day or two. Consider your leftover turkey on day 3 becoming a beautiful soup, when you combine it with your leftover cooking broth, some celery and carrots (perhaps leftover from your crudite tray), and some egg noodles. The fact that you initially cooked potatoes in the broth also adds a little built-in thickener, so your soup won't be too watery.

Of course, another use for the leftover broth is to make a pot of potato soup, since you probably didn't use your entire bag of potatoes in the first place.

WT

[femmennoir]

The story goes that if you soak popcorn in water for ten or fifteen minutes, then drain well and pop, the popped corn will be much fluffier and with less kernels unpopped.

But have you tried it? (I don't eat popcorn, being from a region of France where corn -maize- is for poultry only)
Inquiring minds and all!

Elle*

[Jesse]

I have not tried it myself. I do not eat popcorn, in fact I do not eat corn period unless it is ground into meal and even then only rarely. :)

But have you tried it? (I don't eat popcorn, being from a region of France where corn -maize- is for poultry only)
Inquiring minds and all!

Elle*

[blush]

Hydrogen peroxide will take blood stains out of cloth

[citybutch]

OMGoodness... I LOVE this thread! I am going to try that mashed potato idea... amoung others! I have little to share... but much to learn!

[iamkeri1]

Regarding honey ... I had to look up what a "bain-marie - hot water bath" is, but I have discovered that you can return honey to it's liquid state by
microwaving it for 15 seconds at a time, then stirring and repeating till it liquifies. Usually only takes three rounds of 15 seconds - you can do it in the original container if it's glass - no mess no fuss.

I envy all you folks who have home grown herbs. my "green thumb" does not include this particular skill.
Smooches,
Keri

[Chancie]

I am my father's daughter, apparently, so

I want to remind everyone not to use homemade vinegar to can because

You can not be sure of its acidity.

[girl_dee]

Honey can also be brought back to life by dropping the bottle in hot water.. (I don't do microwaves so this has always been my method)

[Miss Scarlett]

My doctor has me on a low glycemic index diet so I eat a lot of rotisserie chicken (I swear I'm gonna grow pin feathers any day now...) mostly for work lunches. I save everything - bones, etc. - and stick it in the freezer. When I have a few I will use them to make chicken stock or soup. Hint - if there is any liquid in the container let it gel and collect that with the bones. Lots of flavour in that stuff.

[JustJo]

My doctor has me on a low glycemic index diet so I eat a lot of rotisserie chicken (I swear I'm gonna grow pin feathers any day now...) mostly for work lunches. I save everything - bones, etc. - and stick it in the freezer. When I have a few I will use them to make chicken stock or soup. Hint - if there is any liquid in the container let it gel and collect that with the bones. Lots of flavour in that stuff.

I'm so glad you posted this! I always make stock from leftover chicken or turkey carcasses, but have periodically had to throw them out when I've been extra busy. Why did it never occur to me to freeze them? :doh:

[Miss Scarlett]

I'm so glad you posted this! I always make stock from leftover chicken or turkey carcasses, but have periodically had to throw them out when I've been extra busy. Why did it never occur to me to freeze them? :doh:

I learned that from my Mom who used to freeze turkey carcasses. Left over hambones too; I've got one in my freezer now for either beans or some type of soup - pea, bean or lentil.

[femmennoir]

Even though I live in a NYC apartment with a small kitchen, and a small fridge, I always freeze chicken bones (since I live alone I usually only get chicken breast with bones in) and occasionally a ham or leg of lamb bone, or a whole duck or chicken carcass, as well as vegetable trimmings, to make broth. When it looks like there is enough, I make broth and after de-fattening it, freeze the broth in small plastic containers, so I can grab one whenever I need broth in a recipe. I never buy broth! I usually add carrots, celeri, garlic and leeks when I make the broth, as well as herbs, unless I have enough vegetable trimmings.
What are vegetable trimmings, might you ask? Well, mushroom stems and peelings, potato and carrot peelings, carrot tops (I buy the organic carrots with tops on whenever possible), the very dark green part of leeks, which are tough, the stems of artichokes, also any vegetable I know I won't use before it spoils (I go crazy at the farmer's market and forget I usually cook only for one), and of course the stems of fresh herbs or if I have too much parsley or basil at hand, I freeze them and use some in broths.
There is for me something very satisfying in making broth and stashing it away in the freezer!
When (so rarely) I don't have any broth on hand, I use tea in place of broth. Different teas will give different flavour to what I am preparing: if I need a smoky flavour I use Lapsang Souchong tea, if I want a floral note I use either a flower tea (lavender, chamomile) or a flavoured tea (apricot, rose, ginger/peach)....These really add a depth of flavour to any recipe!
Elle*

[Bit]

I never thought of using tea--that's a GREAT idea!

[Venus007]

A easy thing to do with the broth is to freeze it in ice cube trays then put the broth ice cubes in a big plastic freezer bag so all you have to do is pull out a few or many to have broth. It works with sauce, pesto, and other such liquid tastiness.

[Jesse]

I do that with bacon grease as well. Works out nicely.


A easy thing to do with the broth is to freeze it in ice cube trays then put the broth ice cubes in a big plastic freezer bag so all you have to do is pull out a few or many to have broth. It works with sauce, pesto, and other such liquid tastiness.

[femmennoir]

I do that with bacon grease as well. Works out nicely.

I do save duck fat and freeze it, and use it in particular to sauté potatoes (yum), also bacon fat, separately, which adds a nice bite of smokiness to stews and soups.

Elle*

[Venus007]

I make my own vanilla extract, it is very easy and you will make some of the finest vanilla you ever had. . . .

-Take a quantity of unflavored vodka (I use a 1/2 pint) you can do more or less
-3 vanilla beans split down the middle (again more or less as needed)

Put the vanilla beans in the 1/2 pint, put it in your pantry or some dark place and let it sit for about 2 months (shake it occasionally) until it turns a nice dark color and smells strongly of vanilla when you open and sniff.

You can add more vodka as you use it and you will virtually never be without vanilla again.

I keep an old regular vanilla bottle and fill it from the vanilla booze bottle for ease of handling.

[Miss Scarlett]

I make my own vanilla extract, it is very easy and you will make some of the finest vanilla you ever had. . . .

-Take a quantity of unflavored vodka (I use a 1/2 pint) you can do more or less
-3 vanilla beans split down the middle (again more or less as needed)

Put the vanilla beans in the 1/2 pint, put it in your pantry or some dark place and let it sit for about 2 months (shake it occasionally) until it turns a nice dark color and smells strongly of vanilla when you open and sniff.

You can add more vodka as you use it and you will virtually never be without vanilla again.

I keep an old regular vanilla bottle and fill it from the vanilla booze bottle for ease of handling.

I started a bottle back in the 90s using a fifth of not too expensive 100 proof vodka and about 6 or split vanilla beans. It's amazing stuff.

[Bit]

Well, I procrastinated a while, but I finally got a turkey in the oven tonight. I made my own bread for the dressing--from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day recipe, SO easy--and broke it up a couple-three days ago, so it was good and dry. I sauteed the celery and spices with butter and then added broth from the last turkey (I had frozen the broth in peanut butter jars), to get the dressing moist enough. It smelled really good in the skillet; hope it tastes as good in the finished dressing! If it does, I'll just do that from now on.

[iamkeri1]

I keep a plastic container (with lid) in my freezer. If I have any leftovers too small for a second meal, I throw them in the plastic container to make a future batch of "refrigerator soup." Into it goes corn, beans of any kind, spaghetti (with sauce) macaroni and cheese, meat scraps, mashed potatoes (IMO other kinds of potatoes get mealy when frozen) sloppy joe, etc. In short I add anything but processed meats like bologna or polish sausage - which seem to dominate every other taste. Then, usually when I have made a pot roast or baked chicken and have lots of good drippings, I use the pan I cooked it in to make soup. I also clean out the refrigerator and add to the soup pot everything that needs to get used up... half a tomato or onion, garlic cloves that are starting to dry up, cabbage, that last flower of broccolli or cauliflower, the zucchini I cooked last night. I cover everything with water and then add one 15-16 oz can of tomato sauce and seasonings (Bay leaf is a must for any soup I make) and cook for at least half an hour till everything is tender.

Delicioso!!!

Smooches,
Keri

[Bit]

I am soooo bummed to tell you that turkey and dressing without onions is just... flat.

Onions cause a kind of pernicious anemia in dogs, and I planned to use part of this turkey to make dog treats, so I left the onions out. Even using turkey broth in the dressing did no good... since, yanno, the turkey broth was also onion free.

:bigcry:

Gryph sprinkled onion powder on his serving and says it made a big difference. Maybe I'll sautee some onions later and add them to the dressing, now that it's out of the bird.

Lady's still begging for turkey, even though she has GOT to be full at this point..... I guess keeping it onion-free is worth it.

Sorta.

Maybe.

:bigcry:

[Medusa]

Question!

I'm assuming gnocchi can be frozen but is there a specific method?

I've been craving a healthy gnocchi and want to make a giant batch of it and freeze some for lunches and whatnot but don't want to end up with gnocchi-flavored ice balls!

Hep!

[moxie]

Question!

I'm assuming gnocchi can be frozen but is there a specific method?

I've been craving a healthy gnocchi and want to make a giant batch of it and freeze some for lunches and whatnot but don't want to end up with gnocchi-flavored ice balls!

Hep!

According to a cookbook I have:

Line baking sheets with wax paper and dust with flour. Spread gnocchi on the baking sheets and freeze until hard (usually takes about 2-3 hours). Remove and put in portion-sized freezer bags. Can only freeze them for a month at the most.

[Medusa]

Put them on a cookie sheet in the freezer till they're hard, then dump them in plastic bags.

How are gnocchi healthy? Potatoes, flour, egg and salt. Are you filling them with multi-vitamins?

Spinach, egg substitute and whole-wheat flour!!! DURRRRRRRRRRR!!!

[Medusa]

Oh, and I'm making a pumpkin gnocchi too!

[femmennoir]

After this hiatus full of recipes and conversations, then silence, I would like to get back to the topic at hand: how do you thriftily use, re-use, recycle, and re-invent your food staples in creative ways.....(inquiring minds and all....)

I just did a spring cleaning of my freezer, so I could fill it with detoxing, good for you stuff, and I found several partly filled bags of frozen fruit I used in smoothies and the like....blackberries, blueberries, berry medley, mango, black cherries.....I also had a batch of Fuji apples (fresh) languishing in the fruit bowl and looking a bit wrinkled from dehydration.......Voilà! Instant (almost!) Tutti Frutti jam! Added sugar, a large handful of dried lemon, tangerine, orange and grapefruit peel (I am thrifty that way) and the juice of two blood oranges, brought to a simmer and cooked until jell point.......6 pints of delightful ruby colored, full of texture jam!
Completely satisfying!!
By the way, yes I dry and keep all citrus peels and use them usually in compotes (apple sauce in particular) and stews, where they lend a distinct note, and of course in teas, particularly when I have a tea blend which is a bit on the bland side....or I pulverize it, and use the powdered peel to flavour pie or cookie dough..
My two euros for the day! Keep those hints coming, I really enjoy them!

Elle*

[Diva]

Elle, thanks so much for bumping this thread or I might not have seen it! What an awesome thread!

I love the frugal lifestyle because I have to live frugally these days.

But I embrace it because it's fun to see just how long I can go without going to the store to replenish. I have read this thread from the beginning now and there are some amazing ideas!

At the beginning of the year, I had begun a diet program which had prepackaged food. Now, since I can't afford the program, luckily, I had saved the microwavable dishes. I used them to make my own, smaller portion meals as well as paint pallettes for my art!

Also, I LOVE the Vlasic Zesty Bread and Butter pickles....LOVE them! :eyebat: But when they're gone, I have all this amazing juice left over, so I peel & slice a couple of zucchini & toss 'em in that juice and the next day....well....major yumminess! Carrots are also good, but zukes are my fave!

Thanks, Elle....great thread! Subscribing! :)

[Diva]

In my painting, I find myself recycling a myriad of things......
~a champagne cork makes a great, albeit imperfect, stamp.

~Bottle caps of all sizes make great circles.

~Dryer sheets are GREAT! Shredded, they're a great texture to add to a canvas....they make a nice effect when paint is dabbed through one, too!

~A coffee can lid (plastic) can be cut in half, then zig~zag cut to paint interesting designs ...drag them through the paint for fun designs.

~I have a ruined paint brush that I'm going to incorporate in a piece I'm currently painting....fun!

[femmennoir]

Flour and water glue, cooked

Usually made with wheat flour, but you can use rice flour too, just experiment for quantities! It does spoil (gets moldy at room temperature) so should be kept in fridge!

Boil 5 cups of water in a pan. Separately, in a bowl, mix 1/4 cup of sieved flour with a cup of cold water. Mix to a smooth consistency (this bit is like making custard or a white sauce) and when all the lumps have gone, add the mixture to the water in the pan. Gently boil, stirring continually for 2-3 minutes until the mixture thickens.
Allow to cool before using.
You can make a thicker glue (that has the benefit of drying more quickly) by using 1 whole cup of flour to every 3 cups of water.

Enjoy, you thrifty crafty people!

Elle*

[Medusa]

I have to make a confession that may horrify some of you.

I make freezer casserole.

In other words, I have a bowl in my freezer that I dump everything into for use later. I generally keep the bowl oriented toward Mexican food so any time I have leftover black beans or corn or chicken or tomatoes, I just toss it all in my freezer bowl.

Tomorrow, I'll unthaw my bowl and layer everything between corn tortillas and cheese and VOILA!

[Diva]

There's a great page on FaceBook called The Frugal Goddess (http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/The-Frugal-Goddess/148545531836015) ..........

[femmennoir]

There's a great page on FaceBook called The Frugal Goddess (http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#%21/pages/The-Frugal-Goddess/148545531836015) ..........


Going to check it out right now!!

Elle*

[femmennoir]

I remembered how to clean drains in an efficient, money-saving, green way, with two things I always have in my kitchen, and no chemicals (to which I am highly allergic!).

Pour about half a box of baking soda down the drain and add about a cup of white vinegar. It will bubble up like a volcano, let it do its work for a half-hour or so, and presto, clean, green drains! If the build-up was severe, repeat one more time.

It really works! And by the way, baking soda is a very good cleaning agent for many other tasks!

Elle*

[Diva]

This link is from my cousin, Sharry (I can't get away from the Sharies/Sharrys!!).....an inexpensive way to have one's iced coffee.....YUMMIE!

~~LINKYLICIOUS (http://www.southernplate.com/2009/03/todays-home-brew-secret-to-great-iced-coffee-without-great-expense.html)~~